American Rabbis Need to Step Up and Love Israel

If I read about one more American Rabbi publicly criticizing Israel, I’m going to throw a matzah ball through the window. At the risk of being disrespectful, I’ve lost my patience with these Rabbis’ mealy-mouthed support for the Jewish State, hand wringing over Jews’ collective morality, and purported struggle over how best to stand up for Israel during these difficult times. As my teenage daughter says: it’s not that deep. Our people are under attack and it’s time to fight back against increasingly mainstream blood libels – not to apologize or grovel for support.

The misguided American Rabbis at issue are almost exclusively non-Orthodox, and the longer the war continues because Hamas refuses to surrender and release the hostages, the more they seem to multiply like mushrooms after the rain. Instead of publicly criticizing Israel, and fueling the antisemitic fire raging across the world, these Rabbis should focus on why they were ordained in the first place – to bring more Torah into the world and ensure the continuity of the Jewish people.

The sober reality is that the American Rabbis most likely to publicly criticize Israel are those most likely to have synagogues filled with functionally illiterate congregants when it comes to Israel and Judaism. This may seem harsh, but that does not make it any less true. Rabbis whose congregations are filled with the most committed American Jews are much less likely to engage in such dalliances. There is a direct correlation between Rabbis signing their names to New York Times advertisements disparaging Israel and the level of intermarriage and assimilation within their respective congregations.

As Coach Belichick would say: “do your job!” A Rabbi’s top priority should be to bring their congregants closer to Hashem and to each other through committed Jewish lives. Political detours and straining to placate progressive “allies” by apologizing for Israel’s fight for survival is not on the Rabbi Bingo Card. To the contrary, it’s time for these Rabbis to recommit themselves to their core sacred responsibilities — in a world gone mad about Jews, in which our enemies continue to spew blood libels about the Jewish State, Rabbis should be doing one thing in response: supporting Israel and urging their congregants to follow their lead. Get on a plane, visit Israel, volunteer, donate money, or join the IDF and protect our people.

Have we forgotten why Israel is existentially important to our survival? Have these Rabbis misplaced their history books, filled with inquisitions, expulsions, pogroms, the Holocaust, and of course October 7? Jews are (again!) literally being forced to dig their own graves – our outrage should be singularly focused against our enemies. I will never apologize for our brothers and sisters on the front lines; and I certainly will not publicly criticize them from the comforts of my New Jersey home far from the battlefield.

What about the suffering in Gaza?

We all lament the human suffering that naturally accompanies war. But, unlike Hamas (and their myriad Gazan enablers), Israelis are not animals. Israelis are among the most compassionate people on Earth, welcoming Jews from around the world, rushing to far-flung countries to aid in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, and – despite acknowledging the painful reality that they are fighting against a barbaric death cult – are intensely introspective about what they can do better during times of war and peace. Importantly, as someone blessed to visit Israel every few months, I can attest to the frustration of many Israelis when they read public criticisms levied by American Jewish leaders – Israelis have bigger fish to fry, but many shake their heads in bewilderment. On the other hand, Israelis are supremely appreciative when American Jews show up – whether in person or via other means of support. Let’s do more of that and less public internecine squabbling.

American Jews can have sincere concerns about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza without falling prey to the lie that these conditions are primarily Israel’s fault. It’s one thing to spill a drop of wine to show compassion; it’s entirely different to throw those risking their lives under the bus. Young IDF soldiers are just like our college age American Jewish children – imagine if your son or daughter were falsely portrayed in the media as a bloodthirsty warmonger. Would you pile on via public criticism?

I suspect that many of these American Rabbis will justify their public criticism of Israel by characterizing it as an expression of their deep concern for the Jewish State. This paternalistic rationale falls on its face. Neither “Jewish values” nor nebulous notions of “Tikkun Olam” mandate public rebukes of Israel when it is fighting for all Jews’ survival. It’s one thing to be in the opposition in Israel and participate in the on-the-ground enterprise of building the Jewish State. It’s an entirely different story to lob half-baked criticism from a peanut gallery situated across an ocean. This holds true whether it’s a non-Orthodox Rabbi signing anti-Israel petitions or an ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionist Rabbi visibly protesting at the Salute to Israel Parade. It’s all counterproductive to the cause of unifying world Jewry in support of our people during a perilous time.

There is no denying that when American Rabbis publicly lambaste Israel, it is used as cover by the media and so-called elite academic institutions to attack Jews – after all, if hundreds of Rabbis can express their outrage, why can’t a bunch of non-Jews? We’ve already seen the bill come due for the “as a Jew” crowd’s sins. The majority of Democratic Senators recently voted against providing Israel with necessary defense support; Jews are ostracized in US universities, and Jews are being lit on fire in Colorado and gunned down in Washington DC. Israel’s detractors use public criticism by American Rabbis to fuel an abjectly false narrative of “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide”. Every time we give an inch to Jew hate, we enable our enemies at home and abroad.

This war could have ended a long time ago if Hamas released all hostages and surrendered. Predictably, but tragically, that has not happened. It is exasperating to the point of causing Jews to boil over – but let’s not pretend that these American Rabbis know better than the IDF or Israeli government how to make national security decisions, let alone how to bring all the hostages home.

Does that mean that American Jews should not publicly criticize Israel?

Perhaps that’s the right answer. Unless you’re putting your life at risk by living in the Promised Land, surrounded by enemies who intend your demise, maybe you should exercise restraint – other than to ask repeatedly what you can do to help. Israelis risk their lives to defend Jews around the world. These American Rabbis do not; they should exhibit greater humility. I don’t pretend that Israel is perfect, nor its current government; but that is besides the point. The question is whether American Jews’ misgivings should be made public or dealt with discretely within the family.

Fortunately, there are signs of hope as committed Zionists in the non-Orthodox world are starting to push back against their movements’ worst excesses. For example, the largest Reconstructionist synagogue, Kehillat Israel, announced it intends to cut ties with the Reconstructionist movement’s denominational body over its failure to confront hostility to Israel among Reconstructionist rabbis and rabbinical students – including the Reconstructionist rabbinical college’s ordination of students with overtly anti-Zionist views. Within the Reform movement, a prominent Rabbi (Ammiel Hirsch) has warned of a looming crisis within the Reform movement’s approach to Zionism – publicly urging the movement’s leaders to reevaluate their commitment to Israel to ensure that the next generation does not go further astray.

Sadly, however, even the more traditional Conservative Movement is not immune from anti-Israel cancers. Organizations such as T’ruah, led by Conservative Rabbi Jill Jacobs have brought shame to the once staunchly Zionist Conservative movement through their anti-Israel activities — consistently portraying Israel and the IDF’s brave men and women through a dystopian lens. Among its litany of disgraceful offenses, T’ruah accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing”, celebrated “Nakba Day”, and urged the cessation of US-Israel funding. If a non-Jew took these actions vis-à-vis Israel, we’d consider them antisemitic. Yet hundreds of American Rabbis sign on to T’ruah’s petitions and publish their names alongside these blood libels. One can only hope that the Conservative movement will formally disassociate from this wayward organization.

What should these American Rabbis do?

Rabbis should channel their angst over Israel into more productive activities to ensure a strong Zionist next generation. It is no coincidence that many of these Rabbis’ constituents struggle with assimilation and limited Jewish engagement. Instead of precious time being spent criticizing Israel, these Rabbis should spend that same time urging their congregants to learn Hebrew, visit Israel, and, of course, devote themselves to Torah study – this would yield a much greater return on investment. At bottom, let’s stop wasting money on full-page ads in The New York Times and redirect those resources towards teaching our children about Judaism’s rich heritage and our sacred connections to the Promised Land.